I would never crash a wedding in real life. But virtually? On Instagram? I do it every weekend.

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‪Remember that episode in season three of ‬‪Sex and the City‬‪, when Carrie Bradshaw famously notes, "Sunday is the one day a week you get the single woman's sports pages: ‬‪The New York Times‬‪ wedding section"? If Carrie Bradshaw were still narrating episodes of ‬‪Sex and the City‬‪ today, she'd be talking about stalking wedding hashtags on Instagram. Tap on a hashtag and instantly you're there‬: At a castle in Italy at the wedding of some socialite; getting a glimpse of the bride's wedding dress (even before the groom?); watching a video of the bride and groom's first dance. Maybe you snuck a peek at Lena Dunham as a Reformation-wearing, Heidi braids-sporting bridesmaid a week ago at her best friend, artist Isabel Halley's, wedding (#inthesewoods)? You're not the only one.‬

‪In the last few years, having a wedding hashtag has become as common as sending out a Save the Date. According to TheKnot.com and Mashable's 2014 #SocialWeddingSurvey, out of over 1,000 couples polled, 55% reported using a wedding hashtag. In 2012 just 20% of couples said they used a wedding hashtag. Before that, wedding hashtags were unheard of, says Anja Winikka, site director for TheKnot.com.‬

‪"I think for brides of my generation, it's the easiest way for guests to share photos and for the bride and groom, it's fun afterward to go through and relive it all through photos from their guests," says Natalie Boggs, 27, a business development director at Hilldun, who got married last October. "The day goes by so fast and you miss so many of the details, so the photos give you a chance to experience some of that. Professional photos also take a while to get back, so there's the instant gratification that also comes from using a hashtag."‬

‪The bridal party is also getting involved. "I created one for my sister's wedding, and as a perpetual bridesmaid, it's a great way to share pictures from the bachelorette to the main event," says Chloe Thompson, 31, quickly hedging, "Am I naive?"‬

‪Nope. Wedding hashtags have become so prevalent that brides are even looking to wedding hashtags for research and inspiration. "I almost preferred looking through photos of a wedding hashtag for inspiration than I did Pinterest and magazines," says Boggs.‬

‪And she's not alone. Even for those who are not brides-to-be, going down a wedding hashtag rabbit hole has become a weekly time suck for many young women (more than a few of whom work for ELLE.com). I, personally, waste many more minutes on any given Sunday than I wish to disclose by tapping on the wedding hashtag of a socialite/model/acquaintance. All of a sudden I'm there, virtually attending a stranger's wedding from dozens of different (and oftentimes very personal) vantage points.‬

‪"I have passively attended about 50 weddings this summer," ELLE.com's own fashion editor Danielle Prescod says. "Wedding hashtags are brilliant because you click through one and, magically, it opens up Pandora's box—who was there, what they wore, what they ate, what the bride's dress looked like, how tall the groom is relative to the bride, and my favorite: what his brother looks like."‬

‪Creepy? Sure, a little.‬

‪And there is a backlash brewing. Winikka cites weddings where guests are asked to check their phones at the door: No social media allowed. (This tactic is perfect for famous people and the bride who doesn't want an unflattering photo making the rounds.)‬

‪Still, those anti-social media brides and grooms are in the minority. Wedding hashtags (and, consequently, wedding hashtag stalking) are on the rise. Winikka notes that crowdsourcing apps to pull in hashtagged photos are starting to crop up. According to the aforementioned survey, wedding hashtags are now a permanent part of wedding paraphernalia: 20% of couples shared their hashtag on their ceremony programs, 28% of couples shared their hashtag on the table displays at the reception, and 26% of couples shared their hashtag on their wedding website. "We believe [hashtags] will be a mainstay of the wedding," says Winikka.‬